Researcher funded by the American Heart Association named Nobel co-recipient

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DALLAS – Duke
University researcher Robert Lefkowitz, M.D., on Wednesday was named the
co-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work funded in part by
the American Heart Association.

Lefkowitz won
along with co-recipient Brian Kobilka, M.D., of Stanford University for studies
of G-protein-coupled receptors, which allow the body's cells to sense and
respond to internal and external signals, such as flavors, odor, light and
danger. Studies of this kind have been instrumental in the development of more
effective drugs to treat cardiovascular disease and other illnesses.

"Through
their groundbreaking research in protein receptors, Dr. Lefkowitz and Dr.
Kobilka have brought forth discoveries with the potential to transform our
approaches to treating disease," American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown
said.

"The American
Heart Association is proud to have provided research funding support to Dr.
Lefkowitz nearly four decades ago, and we are grateful for his contributions to
our mission since the 1980s as a member of our Council on Basic Cardiovascular
Sciences," she said.

Lefkowitz, the
James B. Duke Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, becomes
the 13th researcher funded by the American Heart Association to win
the Nobel Prize. He received research funding from the association from 1973 to
1979. Support for scientists who are early in their career is a key priority of
the association's research program.

In 2009,
Lefkowitz won our Research Achievement Award, also for his studies of
receptors. The award cited his "transformative discoveries of cellular
receptors, seminal findings that have created a cascade of biomedical
innovation leading to more effective treatments for human disease."

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